A Look into my Plan Book

I am interested to find out how other dance educators do their planning for their classes. On a busy week I teach up to 25 classes a week. I teach so many varieties of dance and such a age range that sometimes it's hard for me to keep up. I feel sometimes that I am all over the place. This year I tried 3 new things to help me organize-

1) Get a plan book- color code it- write what you do for each class, so next week you can look back and remember what you did. (it's impossible for me to keep it straight with out this) I also believe this is a great way to keep track of your curriculum and see where new ideas can be added in.

2) Pick a Theme- I have tried incorporating a theme into each week. For example: shapes, pathways, breath. Or a book, such as Where the Wild Things Are? Or a specific creative new song to introduce. I find this keeps me from having to many lessons in my mind and gives a base to build off of for the week. No matter what age try to incorporate the theme you pick into every class throughout the week!

3) Gather Ideas from the kids- I find that the kids have the best ideas. They have favorite songs, books, and props that they are so excited to explore. My favorite is when they tell me about what they are learning in their classrooms and can connect those ideas to movement!

What about you? Do you use a specific way of planning to help you organize your classes? I would love to hear since these are new ideas I am trying out, but would be willing to try out anything else that might help!

Thanks for reading! In the meantime movecreateeducate...